Famed for the sexually explicit nature of her writing at a time when women were only considered attractive if they were demure, Behn “valued wit over virtue” and used her literary prowess to make a living by her pen at a time when only men did so.
In a bid to grant Behn the “celebration that has been denied to her for centuries” the charity ‘A is for Aphra’ teamed up with the Canterbury Commemoration Society to launch a campaign to create a statue of the novelist, poet and playwright.
Four artists in the running to create bronze statue
Since launching the challenge last year, four artists have now been shortlisted as the potential sculptors of the bronze statue.
The artists are now in the process of casting a 50cm high bronze maquette of their design which will be presented to the public this summer.
The designs range from an anonymous looking woman sitting on a pile of books, to another figure of a woman standing and lifting her skirt to reveal words underneath, symbolic of how at the time women could not openly show their desire to write.
The winning design will be made into a full-sized statue that will be erected in Behn’s hometown of Canterbury, Kent by next summer.
‘We need to make up for three centuries of neglect’
Caroline Nokes, the Conservative chairperson of the Women and Equalities Select Committee, said: “Women are too little recognised in public art, particularly statues.”
Ms Nokes said that while in recent years there have been “brilliant campaigns” to get more women immortalised in bronze, such as the statue of Suffragist leader Millicent Fawcett in 2018 – the first statue of a woman erected in Parliament Square – more needed to be done in this area to ensure the achievements of women over the centuries do not go unmarked.
“This initiative is one that can bring a prominent trailblazing woman to more prominence and I’m really looking forward to seeing the statue,” Ms Nokes added.
“It is so important we recognise the contribution women have made to public life in all sorts of professions.”
